Members with 1000+ points receive a free banneton

Search form

trouble with organic flour

I just tried a couple of free-form sourdough loaves using Demeter light flour (Demeter is an Australian organic, biodynamic flour mill) and had a rather disapointing result, it's really flat! Up to now I've been using (I think) defiance bread flour, occasionally mixed with whatever brand wholemeal flour I can get my hands on with usually pleasing result.

Here's a picture of one of the loaves next to my last loaf of white bread I pulled out of the freezer (I hope you can see the photo)

I rang the Demeter mill and they said their flours have 14% or higher protien content (I'm pretty sure that's what she said).

Anyone have any ideas? I used Dan lepards basic white bread recipe in the handmade loaf, adding a little extra water and amended cooking time. (I secretly have my doubts about such long proving times, it seems to me that my breads do better if give them a shorter prove time).

Replies

BenI have only just started making sourdough recently, and use the demeter flours exclusively. I have had a little trouble with getting them to rise properly using the Dan Lepard techniques of making the dough the night before, putting it in the fridge, the stretching and folding for 3-4 hours, and then proving for several more hours.I have a loaf that is about to go into the oven using the demeter unbleached plain flour (rye starter), where I took it from the fridge, stretched and folded when I pulled it out, then again an hour later, and shaped one hour after that. It has now been 3 hours since shaping, and it has more than doubled in size, so is going in the oven in about 3 mins!I have also found, the lower my hydration rate, the flatter my breads have been, I am going up 1% at a time right now, after starting at 67% (quite flat), and am now at 72% and finding it is getting very well risen and good crumb, so I dont think it is the flour, or at least, I hope not!Hope that helpsTrent

What kind of bulk (1st) proof are you currently doing? I would suggest trying a long bulk proof and then scaling and shaping straight into the forms. Use the bulk (1st) proof to provide
evidence that your dough is kicking bum then get your dough into shape
pronto, ready for a final proof that will still have plenty of guts
left for spring in the oven.

Take out variables...like cold temperatures. A 24C day is perfect, perhaps 3 or 4 hours at this temperature, but obviously this will vary depending on the quality of your leaven, flour and other factors. If the dough rises then falls back then you have gone just beyond a long proof...but don't stress too much becasue you only have one final proof (in the forms) to go.

I believe that the 'Demeter' mark is owned in Australia
by Wholegrain Milling. The flour is stone milled, packaged fresh and
would definately have different characteristics to a flour from one of
the big mills like Defiance. 'Light' flour has a percentage (usually
15% - 20%) of the coarse bits sifted out. It is also referred to as
'85% extraction' or '80% extraction' or similar.

The bran is
usually removed, but hopefully a large amount of germ stays behind a
gives a more nutritious, fuller flour that is more than the straight
endosperm found in most roller milled white flours.

'Demeter'
used to be a brand that signified biodynamic farming and processes. I
am not certain if this is still always the case, at least in Australia.
You might want to check with the miller to find out if the Demeter
flour is biodynamic or organic, and at the same time ask for real, meanighful feedback about how this flour is known to perform. A protein value is not a lot to go on.

Millers receive feedback from bakers all the time...some of them could have faced the same issues as you...we need to encourage millers to let bakers know what they have heard about how their flour is working for other bakers.